Chapter 24: Three Bottomless Abyss
Arianna fell silent. She did not know whether she should answer his question or not. Just recalling what she had seen within those three enormous pits was enough to bring a complex expression in her face.
However, under the gazes of Ryven, Samminah, and Instructor Lawrence, she eventually let out a quiet sigh and complied.
"I only know a little about those pits. And I also have a few conclusions."
"It’s called the Three Bottomless Abyss."
Ryven and Samminah blinked at the same time, their interest immediately drawn.
"The Three Bottomless Abyss..." Ryven muttered inwardly.
Unlike the two of them, Instructor Lawrence showed little reaction, as if he had already know the words she would start to say.
Arianna crossed her arms and continued.
"From what I remember, each abyss is filled with endless darkness. No matter how deep you look, you still won’t see the bottom."
"However, after years of exploration, we concluded something."
"If a certain object is thrown into one of the abysses, the surrounding gray fog will temporarily disappear. The area around that abyss would also become purified for some time."
The moment those words left her mouth, Ryven felt his mind flash like lightning.
Could it be...?
Perhaps the object Hans and the others were searching for was related to this?
And if his guess was correct... Then the flower they were searching for might exist deeper within those caves.
Coming to those conclusions, Ryven frowned deeply. If it truly was some kind of flower, then the old man who had tempted Hans and his friends into searching for it was far more mysterious than he initially thought.
Ryven’s eyes narrowed slightly, but he kept those thoughts to himself.
When he glanced at Samminah, he noticed she seemed to have arrived at the same conclusion.
After a brief silence, Ryven asked again.
"How did you know this information?"
"From the village chief, Marquel Razor."
Arianna answered plainly.
After saying that, she turned around and walked toward the door. "I’m done answering your questions. I’m leaving."
However, just as she was about to step outside, she suddenly paused once more. Her brows furrowed as she turned back toward them.
"Don’t tell me you’re thinking of going there."
"Back then we four, the village chief instructor Lawrence and that old blacksmith has to team up to explore those area."
"There are countless Fourth-Stage and Fifth-Stage abominations around those places."
"And even Sixth-Stage abominations exist there."
Her tone became much more serious than before. "Even with our strength, we barely managed to return alive."
Listening to her warning, Ryven simply shook his head.
"No, I don’t have such thoughts."
Of course, it was a lie. Ryven had already come to a conclusion on how they might escape this place.
Only after hearing that did Arianna finally leave completely.
"Right, I almost forgot," Instructor Lawrence suddenly inquired.
"Since Samminah also contributed greatly during the battle, I’ll give her a Mana Tablet as well."
He then took out another Mana Tablet. It looked identical to Ryven’s, except it bore Samminah’s name and already contained one thousand merit points.
Samminah extended her hand and took the Mana Tablet. She glanced at Instructor Lawrence before speaking in a displeased tone.
"Is this all?"
Instructor Lawrence calmly shook his head.
"Of course not. Your contributions have already been acknowledged by the village chief."
"He said both of you will be rewarded with an Eighth-Tier Artifact."
"The first artifact specializes in offense, while the second focuses on defense. That should be satisfactory enough, right?"
Samminah merely gave a content look.
The value of an artifact was usually higher than a normal treasure weapon if that artifact’s effect was very good.
They are classified at ninth-tier until first-tier. The lower the tier the stronger the artifact.
"As for you, Ryven, give me your Mana Tablet. I’ll transfer two thousand five hundred merit points as compensation for helping defeat the Fourth-Stage Green Troll."
He nodded and weakly reached into his inventory. While doing so, he noticed the Low-Level Treasured Weapon still lying inside.
Ryven’s eyes lit up at the generous reward.
His mood instantly improved further.
I’ll take this as an reward from you miss Arianna.
Ryven muttered inwardly before handing his Mana Tablet to Instructor Lawrence.
The transfer process didn’t take long. Once everything was settled, Instructor Lawrence soon left the room as well.
After Instructor Lawrence left, Ryven reminded Samminah, in a very serious tone.
"Samminah, we’re going to explore those caves and the map, so we can quickly get out this place. You know that right?"
Samminah quitely nod.
"I know."
After talking for a few more minutes, Ryven checked his system.
[Would you like to transfer the experience points to ??? Or take it all to yourself?]
[Would you like to transfer the experience points to Fred Or take it all to yourself?]
Ryven of course splits the experience points to the three of them each.
[+1500 Experience points]
[??? Level increased +2]
[+1200 Experience points]
[Fred Level increase +2]
[+1200 Experience points]
[Host level increase +2]
Although the Second-Stage Trolls provided a decent amount of experience points, around eighty each, Fred rarely managed to land the killing blow himself.
Because of that, Ryven simply shared the experience points equally with Samminah and Fred to keep things fair.
Now that he had obtained additional Arcane Points, he immediately distributed them toward Mana.
[Host’s Mana increased +4]
[Fred’s Mana increased +4]
[??? Mana increased +4]
Putting all their Arcane Points into Mana was necessary. Fred had begun relying heavily on Ravenous Strike, while Beast Transformation consumed Ryven’s Mana at an alarming rate.
Only now did Ryven realize the skill had also been draining his physical strength the entire time.
That was the true reason his body had collapsed afterward.
Thinking about it now, although the village had suffered severe damage, many of the survivors had also grown stronger because of the battle.
Three days passed quickly.
The aftermath of the invasion was still palpable throughout the Reinett Village.
The dead were given proper burials, though all of the graves no longer contained actual bodies.
Families and relatives mourned endlessly at the burial grounds. At that moment, Ryven stood silently.
He hadn’t personally lost anyone, yet he felt a pang of deep sadness and emptiness. Ryven was still not sure what’s the cause of it.
While spectating, he saw a familiar face approaching.
It was Thomas.
Ryven recognized him immediately from his ordinary appearance and brown eyes. However, the cheerful spark he usually carried was gone.
"Oh... you’re here too," Thomas said with a bitter smile. "I heard about what happened... and what you contributed during the battle."
Ryven nodded slightly.
"Did you lose someone?" He asked quietly.
Thomas bitterly nodded.
"An old friend of mine. Honestly... something like this should’ve been expected. We’re living in a dangerous place, after all."
He lowered his head.
"But now that it actually happened... it’s far heavier than I imagined. I couldn’t even awaken a system. I couldn’t help with anything."
Hearing that, Ryven understood what Thomas truly felt, it was helplessness.
After a brief silence, Ryven finally spoke.
"Even if civilians can’t fight, I don’t think that makes all of you useless."
He glanced toward the burial grounds.
"If people with power don’t protect the helpless... then what’s the point of having that power in the first place?"
After saying that, a long silence followed afterward.
Eventually, Ryven let out a heavy sigh and turned around.
"I’m going now."
Without waiting for a response, he quietly left.
After returning to his house, Ryven sat down on the couch and stared blankly at the ceiling for a long time.
The images from the burial grounds continuously replayed in his mind.
The old woman who used to give him apples.
There were also those children whom he often saw playing around the village, now kneeling before graves with teary eyes.
Before Ryven realized it, two drops of tears slowly fell from his eyes.
He was immediately confused by the unfamiliar feeling stirring inside him.
Really... what’s wrong with me?
Only then did Ryven realize that he had become too attached to the people of Reinett Village, considering he had only been there for almost two weeks.
Calming himself, he slowly stood up.
Thinking about what awaited them in the future, he chose not to rest and instead decided to look for another mission.
Leaving the house, he headed toward the main part of the village.
As he walked through the streets, he couldn’t help but sigh heavily. The people’s expressions are very gloomy.
Eventually, he arrived at what looked like an ordinary tavern, though the word "Mission" was etched above its entrance.
After entering, he noticed there were only a handful of people inside.
Walking toward a large bulletin board, Ryven began searching through the available missions.
Eventually, one particular paper caught his attention.
It depicted a massive bear-like creature.
The mission involved hunting an Abyss Bear, a Fourth-Stage abomination.
Because of the dangerous environment where it lived, almost nobody dared to accept the quest.
At the same time, it was the only Fourth-Stage mission Ryven could currently take.
One thousand merit points...
The reward was extremely generous precisely because nobody wanted to complete it. Since the mission had remained unclaimed for such a long time, the reward had naturally continued increasing.
However, compared to the rewards for the Blood Skull Spider, this was still far better. There were also certain reasons why even the village chief personally decided to increase the reward.
Satisfied, Ryven immediately took the mission paper and signed his name without hesitation.
